Siobhan nodded, unable to bring herself to confess she wasn’t really worried they wouldn’t be safe around Oliver. She herself had a fear of pools, though, and she avoided them whenever possible. And the behavior she’d been watching for the last few minutes was actually a big reason she was afraid of them.
She saw the ball get slapped hard and then it deflected off of somebody, though she couldn’t see who. A roar went up—half of them cheering and gloating, while the other half shouted and tried to drown them.
“And there’s the point,” Hannah said.
Somebody let out an ear-piercing whistle, and Siobhan watched the entire vibe change. Everybody was laughing and chatting now. Some of them got out of the water and grabbed towels. Others floated around, talking to each other.
She breathed a sigh of relief when Brian hauled himself out of the water. The muscles in his back and arms flexed when he shoved himself up and twisted so he was sitting on the cement lip, and she could have done without noticing that. But it gave her hope he was going to leave the pool area and go find something else to do before it was time to strip off her cover-up and take Oliver into the water.
“Nora,” Mike yelled. “What are you waiting for?”
Nora was waiting for Ellie to open the gate, and as soon as she did, the little girl speed-walked into the enclosure and to the edge of the pool—getting as close as she could to running in the pool area without actually breaking the rule.
Within seconds, she’d kicked off her flip-flops, thrown her towel in the general direction of a chair, and then she was jumping into the water—one hand pinching her nose closed and the other reaching for the grandfather she trusted to scoop her up.
With a tight hold on Oliver’s hand, Siobhan watched Nora surface with Mike’s hands on her waist. The little girl laughed and wiped the water out of her eyes before throwing her arms around Mike’s neck.
Siobhan took her time getting Oliver ready to go in the water. She’d already slathered them both with sunscreen in the camper, but she added another dollop to his nose, cheeks and the tops of his ears. Then she put on his little flotation vest. As she adjusted the straps and fastened the one that passed between his legs she was pleased that none of the pool-loving Kowalskis made a comment about him not needing one. One of the things adopting her son had taught her was that people loved to give advice.
By the time Oliver was ready, most of the adults were gone. A few remained, lounging in the warm sun. Unfortunately, Brian was one of the adults who’d chosen to stay. He was at the far end of the enclosure, pulling toys out of what looked like a plastic garden shed.
“More noodles, Uncle Brian,” Nora called. “I want the pink one.”
Brian threw the pink noodle like a javelin, and it landed in front of Nora and Mike with a splash that made her giggle. Then he tossed in a couple of small balls and a float that looked like a frosted doughnut. The frosting was pink, of course.
Siobhan tried to ignore him while she pulled off the gauzy cover-up she’d thrown over her plain black tank suit and swim shorts. Oliver was struggling against her in his excitement to join his new best friend in the pool, so she kicked off her sandals and hoisted her son onto her hip.
There was no dipping her toes in because it didn’t matter how cold the water was, and there was no time for acclimating, anyway. Oliver wanted in and he was on the verge of wriggling right out of her grasp like a fish.
As soon as her feet touched the bottom of the pool, she let him go and he paddled toward Nora as fast as he could. There was more splashing and giggling than forward motion, but that looked like part of the fun for both kids, so she let him be.
Nora invited him to play her favorite game, which involved Mike lobbing a small squishy ball toward her. When she hit it with the noodle, Mike would dive to catch it. She and Oliver took turns and though he missed a lot more than Nora did, Oliver didn’t care.
Siobhan relaxed after a few minutes of watching, when it became obvious everybody was being careful around her son. Pools made her too anxious to actually leave the water while he was in it, but she pressed her back to the pool wall, lowering herself so the water line was at her chin. It was refreshing, and the motion of the water was calming.
The view of Brian sitting on the edge of the pool, talking to one of his uncles, was less relaxing.
His dark hair dripped water that ran over his bare sun-kissed skin in sparkling rivulets, capturing her attention and holding her gaze until they met the elastic band of his swim shorts.
Her face heated and she wished she had the ability to dunk her head underwater without panicking and breaking the surface with an attention-grabbing combination of coughing and flailing so she could cool her cheeks. She would move to the other side of the pool so Brian wasn’t in her sight line, but then she’d be too far from Oliver for her own comfort.
It was a relief to finally see Steph and Kyle walking toward the pool, hand in hand. Even though they’d planned to meet up here, Siobhan had started to think they weren’t going to make it.
She smiled when Kyle opened the gate and held it for Steph. Then, after making sure it latched securely behind him, Kyle crossed the cement apron in two long strides and executed a cannonball into the deep end that doused Brian and his uncle Joe.
Steph chose to take the stairs in, wincing as each step caused the cold water to inch up her body.
“It’s nice once you’re in,” Siobhan said. “I’m never going to get Oliver out of here.”
Her son was happily paddling around in his vest, waving the noodle whenever Mike threw the ball in his direction. Oliver’s batting average was actually improving, and his laughter made Siobhan smile.
“No, it’s definitely freezing,” Steph insisted, and then she sucked in a breath when she dropped off the final step.
She looked at the trace of whisker burn on her friend’s jawline and chuckled. “It probably doesn’t feel as cold if your body’s not so overheated when you get in.”
“I think all the fresh air is really making Kyle frisky.” Steph grinned. “And the cell signal in the back of the campground sucks, so there’s not much else to do.”
Siobhan laughed, but the instinctual urge to turn her head and look at Brian took her by surprise. Very deliberately keeping her eyes on Oliver, she reminded herself that it didn’t matter if Brian was physically attractive. And didn’t matter if he actually seemed to be a good guy and not the jerk her sister had painted him out to be.
